I have been contemplating buying a Hobie Mirage Kayak for at least 5 years. Well, I finally decided that this was going to be the year as I want to bring it on our family vacation to the OBX at the end of the summer. Likely to get an Outback. The thing holding me back at the moment is where to store it. I currently have an old Ocean Kayak Scrambler that sits against the shady side of the house on it's side for at least the last 15 years. I didn't want to do that to a brand new Hobie, but just cannot find a place inside to store it.

The best place I came up with is under our deck. It's a long deck with access at one end. We live on a hill, so the ground slopes up from where you enter end the deck, starts at maybe 4.5 feet and gets lower from there. I didn't want to just lay it in the dirt, so I came up with an overhead track system, so I can load it from the outside and slide it in on rollers. Took quite a while to get it all worked out (using the Scrambler as a test dummy), but it works well now. (see photo)

Now I don't know what to do about covering it and looking for some input. The kayak is completely shaded from the sun, so UV protection isn't an issue. Water, dirt, etc, will drip through the slats in the deck and onto the kayak. I originally was going to make a cover out of a tarp, but that seems like a hassle every time I need to do it. Then I started thinking I was going a little over board and maybe I should just leave it under the deck with no cover. Now my latest thought is to make a kind of tent over where the kayak will hang. More work to install, but once in place I don't mess with it (probably be a bigger task than I am thinking to get it installed).

Out of the sun is the main concern for protection. The other elements of hot and cold will figure in if you stress the plastic in the sling. I would sling it with wider straps.If room is available, I would have it vertical in the sling and not horizontal as pictured. Just my two cents worth.

The other reason to have a cover is to keep dust and dirt buildup of the yak.

personally, i think your solution is practical winner. even with the UV protection such as it currently is, i'd still treat it with 303 (or some such) before i put it away for the season ... and treat it again after i hosed it off at the start of next season.

you might also want to keep the retainer pins in the mirage drive locks if you still have them ... i've never read anything about anyone using them on here, but it feels like maybe maybe it might help keep the integrity of the mechanism. (and i'm quick to admit this may be nothing more than a superstition.)

I have kept one of my Adventures for years hung in the garage exactly as you have pictured here with no ill effects. It is the wife's boat so gets pretty infrequent use & the garage gets pretty warm in the summer.

As to keeping crap off it - a tent may help but might be a PITA to rig up - I find that a waterblasting every other year (approximately) makes the boats look like new & will clean anything off them (in fact it is the only way I have found to clean crap out of the tiny little holes in the surface of the plastic - these show up as little back spots on the hull when the boat is dirty)